In Sixty Million Frenchmen Can’t be Wrong by Jean-Benoît Nadeau and Julie Barlow, the two authors discusses their time in France and its culture. They use observations in the French language, customs, laws, history to speculate about what it means to be French, make conclusions how these characteristics affect the relationship and perceptions between the Americans and the French. I …

We’ve talked about the idea of “flaneuring” through the streets of Paris, an idea from which we referenced Edmund White’s “The Flaneur.” The idea of flaneuring is to be a stroller through the streets of the city, being both within the street and removed from it – being a participant observer in the streetlife of Parisians. This is partially something …

The film adaption of Follow the Rabbit Proof Fence was recommended to me by several of my professors. So when I saw it on the suggested reading list, I figured why not. After choosing to read Tracks by Robyn Davidson for my first travel book this semester, I was eager this time around to explore an Aboriginal point of view. Doris Pilkington in Follow the …

Extremism is a poison within a nation. Extremism is the death of innocent, caused by all the innocent deaths that came before. Extremism is infectious and spreads like wildfire because of its vehement passion. Extremism is viral, and reminds us of the “virus” root in the word. Extremism is both a mask and a mirror; it shields, labels, and reveals. …

“Like any place that’s become home, I hate it too. And, of course, you can’t separate the things you love and hate: you can’t say, let’s move to so and so where they have the cappuccini, the wines, the lasagna, the marvellous peaches, the handsome people in handsome clothes, the fine buildings, the close-knit, friendly secretiveness of village life, but …

Sorry for such a late blog post–this week was hectic! (Does anyone else feel like their study abroad semester has been their hardest???) Anyway… Tim Park’s Italian Neighbours: An Englishman in Verona is a book about covers everything a foreigner experiences while moving to a new country, specifically the country of Italy, which, as I have learned, is quite an …

After reading A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson and seeing the movie, I knew I wanted to read In a Sunburned Country. I was planning on reading it during winter break before traveling to Sydney but unfortunately, like many things, I did not get around to it. I was thrilled when I saw it was an option for …

Pasquale’s Nose: Idle Days in an Italian Town, a memoir by Michael Rips, retells stories from his time spent in the Italian town of Sutri, located outside of Rome. Originally from Nebraska, his wife Shelia persuades him to move to Italy with their baby daughter so that she can work on her artwork there. Not having a job, his time …

Although Nicolas Shumway’s The Invention of Argentina does not explain what it is like to travel through Argentina or even really give a representation of the country, it most definitely can help contribute to the understanding of this very strange but vibrant country. Throughout my travels, I’ve run into many other foreign travelers who don’t really know anything about the …

The United States, despite prolifically producing literature, films, music, and culture for not only our own consumption, but that of the entire world, lacks a single defining work or author that represents the depth of the American experience. In short, there is no “Great American Novel.” And for that matter, you would be hard pressed to pick a single artist …

Prague itself is like a living, breathing history museum. You can see the eras pass and the mixing of cultures, ideas, and art from block to block. “Prague in Black and Gold: Scenes In the Life of a European City” by Peter Dementz explores the rich history of the city from the times of the early signs of villages to …

Vaclav Havel. President. Writer. Dissident. Airport honoree. National hero… Before coming to the Czech Republic, I didn’t know who Vaclav Havel was. That changed within a day of arriving in this country – at least on a name-recognition level. I landed at Vaclav Havel airport, watched videos of Havel during the Velvet Revolution and read several of his letters during …

In the book, ¡Tango! The Dance, the Song, the Story, the following questions are posed about something that is considered without a doubt to be quintessentially Argentine, tango. The book contains four distinct stories about the genealogy of tango and while each story or essay is unique they all share a similar skepticism; whether we should focus on the essential and …

I’m writing about my reaction to The Sixteen Pleasures by Robert Hellenga. The title is what caught my attention and led to me choosing this book. The novel is about a young woman, Margot Harrington, who travels from Chicago to Italy to work with book restoration. Margot had spent a lot of time in Italy when she was younger, so …

Reading Literary Washington, D.C. not only gave me a more artistic perspective on a city that seems so political and cold at times, but it reinforced many of the oddities of the city that I have come to notice and often discuss in these blog posts. Immediately in the foreword, Alan Cheuse writes that D.C. “serves as a capital for who have …